Join Date: Mar 2004
Re: Laying off maturbation
These headaches have many names, but their most common names are "benign coital headaches" and "benign sexual headaches." However, they can also be referred to as "benign masturbational headaches," as they also occur during masturbation, up to and including orgasm.
First, know that, for the most part, these kinds of headaches are just what their name suggests...benign. They're harmless, though decidedly unpleasant. They can be dull, starting out small during sexual arousal and intensifying with greater excitement, and becoming their strongest during orgasm. Another type is an "explosive" headache that usually occurs just before and/or during an orgasm and causing excrutiating, even debilitating, however brief, pain. There are also other kinds, but the two kinds I've listed tend to be the most common and unpleasant. They generally start to subside immediately after ceasing further sexual excitement and exertion or after orgasm, clearing up completely within fifteen minutes to a couple of hours. However, residual headaches can last as long as several days, and engaging in exertional activities after having such a headache can cause it to recur for as long as a couple of weeks.
The exact causes of these headaches is uncertain, but there may be a connection with the amount of adrenaline in the system during sex. Adrenaline is a vasoconstrictor, meaning it causes blood vessels to constrict and become narrower. During sex, and particularly during an orgasm, blood pressure rises dramatically. If the blood pressure suddenly spikes while the blood vessels in the body are narrow, this can cause intense pain, especially in the muscles in the head. However, this is just one of many theories, but it's also one of the most plausible I've yet heard.
Though these kinds of headaches are actually not very common, they are three times more likely to happen to men than to women, and seem most common in men between the ages of 20-25 and 30-35. Also, unless they persist for several days, intensify in severity, and are accompanied by problems such as tremors, blurred or darkened vision, or other neurological impairments such as numbness in the face, hands and other parts of the body, nausea, dizziness, sluggishness, etc., these headaches shouldn't cause too much worry. However, if such symptoms do occur, you should consult a physician immediately, as you may be experiencing the effects of an anuerysm, or, even less likely, a brain tumor. I don't say this to scare anyone. It's just that not all benign sexual headaches are benign. But most are.
If these headaches keep occurring, you may want to try laying off sexual and other exertional activity for a couple of weeks and see if they clear up. If this doesn't help, your doctor may prescribe anti-inflammatory or beta-blocking medications for a couple of weeks to help solve or temporarily alleviate the problem. There are very effective treatments available, so there should be no reason to dread or fear having sex because of these headaches. I hope this has helped, and I wish you many happy orgasms to come!
Larry J. Rhodes